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This one simple thing you’re doing could make you lose your eyesight

A groundbreaking new discovery has found that people are losing their eyesight for a very surprising reason.

A new study has found that teens and young adults who spend more time outdoors are less likely to experience weakening eyesight down the road, yet another indication that our modern lifestyle of sitting for most of the day and staring at computer screens isn’t good for our health. The study showed that people who spent more time exposed to ultraviolet B radiation between the ages of 14 and 39 were less likely to be nearsighted at 65 than those who did not.

The study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, examined 371 people with near-sightedness and 2,797 without it who lived throughout Europe. On average, they were 65 years old. Researchers examined their eyesight and collected blood samples to measure vitamin D levels int he body.

They also conducted interviews about how much time they spent outdoors between 9 a.m.a nd 5 p.m. since they were 14 up until their current age. They then calculated how much exposure to UVB wavelengths they received based on those answers to determine how much sun they got.

They found that people who were exposed to higher levels of radiation were much less likely to be nearsighted at age 65 than those who apparently spent a lot of time indoors.

“The association between UVB, education, and myopia remained even after respective adjustment. This suggests that the high rate of myopia associated with educational attainment is not solely mediated by lack of time outdoors,” the authors write. “As the protective effect of time spent outdoors is increasingly used in clinical interventions, a greater understanding of the mechanisms and life stages at which benefit is conferred is warranted.”